Reality Check

Documentary Film Screening

An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with Cinema Collective

The NCPA has revived the Reality Check film series, which was started in 2014, to promote and encourage documentary filmmakers in India, whose work reflects life and culture in the country today in a provocative blend of creativity and integrity.

Happiness Class
English Film (51 mins)

Happiness Class is a journey through the unique and fascinating world of children: their preoccupations, their worries, and most importantly, their idea of happiness. Set in the context of an experimental happiness curriculum, inspired by the ideas of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and included as part of formal pedagogy in schools run by the Delhi government, Happiness Class explores this landscape in schools and diverse neighbourhoods, with resident and refugee families, across the metropolis of New Delhi.

Children speak of their fears, stresses and joys, parents talk of their aspirations for their children, and teachers share their pedagogic experiences in the context of the larger world. Using a range of simple and universal art exercises, the film engages in intimate conversations with children; and together with playful animation, sketches the possibilities and challenges of ‘happiness’ being a subject in a school curriculum. In an increasingly competitive world, struggling with the challenges of conflict, segregation and polarisation, the film asks what the pursuit of happiness really means, and what role education can play.

Directed by Samina Mishra

The film screening will be followed by a discussion.

Admission on a first-come-first-served basis. NCPA Members will get preferential seating till 6:20 pm.

WE CARE ABOUT YOUR SAFETY: –

• Checking of body temperature with non-invasive apparatus at entry point  
• ‘Fully vaccinated’ certificate to be shown at entry point
• Wearing of mask is mandatory
• Proper social distancing to be maintained at all times